Ducks and Cardinal Renew Rivalry

STANFORD, Calif. — The Oregon football team looks to start a season with five straight wins for the first time since 2013 when the Ducks take the field at Stanford on Saturday.

The Ducks (4-0) and Cardinal (2-2) meet in Stanford Stadium at 12:30 p.m. The game will be televised by ABC, with Dave Flemming on play by play, Rod Gilmore providing analysis and Stormy Buonantony reporting from the sidelines.

Oregon brings a No. 3 national ranking into the matchup, fueled by a season-opening win over otherwise unbeaten Fresno State, a historic victory at then-No. 3 Ohio State and last week's Pac-12 opener over Arizona. Stanford opened the season with a loss to Kansas State, then bounced back to beat Southern California and Vanderbilt before losing last week to UCLA.

The matchup has been one of the Pac-12's best rivalries over the last two decades. Oregon won every game played between the two between 1998 and 2011, except for losses in 2001 and 2009 when unranked Stanford teams beat UO teams ranked in the top 10.

The Ducks won back-to-back matchups with both programs ranked in the top 10 in 2010 and 2011, before the Cardinal turned the tables and upset Oregon teams ranked No. 1 in 2012 and No. 2 in 2013. Oregon has won the last two matchups, including the last time Stanford hosted, 21-6 in 2019.

Oregon's strengths in 2021 have been balance on offense and a dominant turnover margin. The Ducks have 868 passing yards and 824 rushing yards through four games, and quarterback Anthony Brown's six touchdown passes have been to six different receivers.

Brown has helped the Ducks limit their turnover total to just one through four games. The UO defense, meanwhile, entered this week leading the nation with 13 takeaways, including nine interceptions. Safeties Verone McKinley III and Bennett Williams are 1-2 in interceptions in the Pac-12.

Traditionally one of the Pac-12's toughest teams at the line of scrimmage, Stanford is 10th in the conference in rushing offense at 112.75 yards per game, and last in rushing defense at 209.00 yards per game. But the Cardinal have been buoyed by a change at quarterback, where Tanner McKee is third in the Pac-12 with a 164.60 passer rating and has yet to throw an interception.